Please Hold While I Connect You…Tell a Phone About Persuasion

Please Hold While I Connect You…Tell a Phone About Persuasion

Night before last, I lost my mobile phone. It’s an iPhone, and I love it. yet still I was amazed at how naked I felt without it. Lucky for me, it had fallen off my belt while I was sitting in my friend Saman’s jeep, and he found it and returned it to me that very evening. But it got me to thinking about the art of persuasion on the phone.

Telephone. Tell a phone. There are times when I get the feeling I’m talking to a phone instead of over a phone. Incoming telemarketing calls consistently miss the mark when it comes to winning enough time to create a meaningful connection. And by all reports, cold calls are another example of missed opportunities because of mistakes and just-missed calls. Yet there’s no question that you can build connection with people over the phone.

I’ve observed that some people are better at connecting through the phone than others. Some people you talk with, you can’t wait to be done with. Yet when you talk with others, time just disappears! The question I hope to answer in my next few blog posts is this: How do you use the phone to your advantage, and persuade people that you can’t see, and who can’t see you?

To build connection over the phone, there are at least eight key components of the conversation that I can identify and which you must take into account. You don’t have to use all of them with everyone. After all, too much is too hard to do, and it’s unnecessary too. Instead, like in all matters of communication, a little bit goes a long way. Choose some aspect of the way the person you are talking with sounds, and give back in the way you get, and you will be able to get positive responses to your persuasive efforts.

I plan to explore these key components next week. Until then, I wish you a restful weekend. I finish my intensive at SCNM today. I’ve enjoyed the chance to go deep with a group. It’s uncommon these days, where an hour of time is incredibly precious and a day is the most anyone can make time for. Now it’s back to the office, get caught up on everything neglected while I was out this week, and of course, I have phone calls to make! What do you find persuasive on the phone? What do you dislike in the way people talk with you Your comments, on this post and previous posts, are always welcome.